


Ghosts

by TheEclecticSoul



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, F/M, How Do I Tag, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 12:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15886113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEclecticSoul/pseuds/TheEclecticSoul
Summary: John Shepard didn’t get spaced when the Normandy was destroyed; instead he wakes up in Castle Cousland.Quick Note: This is a reupload and edited version of my old work on FF.net.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Shepard is a Paragon/Earthborn/War Hero/Infiltrator (because that was who I played in-game.)

_Nubulis, Dragon 9:31_  
He was sleeping in the guest room. Fergus Cousland could only sit by him and stare. He was smaller than Fergus remembered, and the tattoo that was under his right eye and cheek were gone. The teyrn lifted a hand to touch the man's face and paused before dropping it back to his side. He could only stare at the patient for a while before he got up and left the room.

The man had been found badly burned but still alive. He was wearing the strangest clothing and helmet, and strapped on his back were strange objects, three of them probably broken from whatever happened to him. The healers had done their best, keeping watch as the fever burned through the man for almost a week before the fever finally broke. The man fell into a sound sleep and the healers told Fergus that now he would be all right.

Fergus stepped out onto the balcony, looking over the town. The rebuilding was taking some time, but the money that was returned from Arl Howe’s former residence and the extra from His Majesty helped. The town was already bustling with life and money was filling the coffers in the castle. It was a different story for the castle, the debris cleared up from the attack. The place was just empty to Fergus, no cheerful banter from his father, no happy conversation between his wife and his mother, no childish laughter from Oren.

And in the end, Aedan had killed the archdemon and thus ended his own life. Alistair never forgave the man and, in a way, neither did Fergus.

So the appearance of the man in the guest room, a man who looked so much like his little brother that Fergus couldn’t help but think it _was_ Aedan, made him wonder if perhaps the Maker was giving him a second chance. He had considered sending a message to Alistair, to let him know about the man’s appearance but decided against it. Alistair still had much to learn and do.

“My Lord?” Fergus turned to see one of the newer maids at the doorway. “He’s awake.”

“Thank you,” Fergus replied with a nod, dismissing the maid. He took a deep breath and walked back into the castle. His heart pounded as he nervously wondered what to say to the man. He stopped before the door, knocked and entered. The man looked up with piercing blue eyes, almost eerie-like, and he winced as he shifted on the bed, getting into a comfortable seating position.

“Um, hi,” the man said hoarsely and winced again, this time at the sound of his voice. He cleared his throat before speaking once more. “Where am I?”

“This is Castle Cousland,” Fergus replied. “I am Fergus Cousland, the Teyrn of Highever. Tell me, what is your name and where are you from?”

“Commander John Shepard,” the man introduced himself, looking around the room. “And I’m totally not from around here.”

.

.

.

It took a couple days before Shepard was able to get out of bed and move without feeling like he was going keel over and die. He wondered if he did die at that moment when the _Normandy_ blew. The burns on his body were a testament that he had been caught in the explosion, but how he got here and how he was still alive were a complete mystery.

The place was primitive but very cozy. Shepard rubbed the back of his neck, seriously considering his room on the _Normandy_ , his place on Earth and the Citadel. None of them were cozy like the room he was currently occupying.

He was able to put on the clothes that Fergus had provided and was rather surprised at how well they fit, albeit a bit loosely on his frame. Even the boots that were given to him fit his feet as though it was made just for him. Shepard puzzled over the clothes and boots before slowly standing up from his bed and towards the door.

There were two guards outside, fully armored with shields and swords strapped on their back. He gave them a nod in greetings before looking both ways and taking a right. The guards followed after him, their armor clinking. Shepard ignored them, puzzling over the fact that the castle looked like it was recovering from some battle. There weren’t many people in the castle, a stark contrast between the warmth of the room he was in. What also caught his attention were the servants running about; they all looked human except some of them were smaller and had pointy ears.

All of them had an accent, sounding like people from The European Union back on Earth. Now that he thought about it, the castle made Shepard think of the pictures he’d seen on the TV screens of castles in England and Scotland.

 _Ah, perhaps this is this world’s version of the United Kingdoms_ , Shepard thought.

“Shepard.” The commander turned as Fergus approached him and he gave the man a nod in greetings. “Should you even be up? How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Shepard replied. “I’m moving a little slower than usual but it’s fine. I just wanted to take a look around here.”

“Ah, of course. Lying around in bed can get pretty boring,” Fergus said with a nod. “I have some of your stuff in my study, you should have them back.” The teyrn turned and Shepard followed him, still hearing the clinking of armor as the two guards followed after them. He entered the study with Fergus, glancing back to see the guards take their positions outside before looked back at the teryn. Fergus opened up a chest and pulled out Shepard’s sniper rifle and what looked like his pistol. He also pulled out a leather bag and placed it on his desk.

Shepard picked up the pistol and after checking it thoroughly he shook his head, knowing the gun was totally broken. The sniper rifle was fine, and when he looked through the leather bag, found four thermal clips.

“Thank you,” he said, putting away the sniper rifle then eyed the pistol. “I must have been pretty badly hurt, this is destroyed.” Fergus nodded as he closed and locked the chest and took his seat behind the desk. He gestured at the seat before him and Shepard sat down, suddenly grateful to be off his feet.

“You were,” Fergus said, leaning back. Shepard got the feeling that the teyrn was studying him and he looked back at him. “Thank the Maker that you were found so quickly. The healers say that you’ll still carry the scars though.”

“It’s a small price to pay,” Shepard said with a shrug and winced. “Out of curiosity, is something wrong? It feels like you want to ask me something.” Fergus blinked then sighed, a pained expression crossing his face.

“I apologize,” the teyrn said. “It’s just that… that you look exactly like my little brother. He died a few months ago. I wonder if the Maker is telling me something when you arrived.”

“Probably,” the commander said. He leaned forward, his blue eyes darkening. “It may have something to do with second chances. I’m suppose to be dead.”

.

.

.

It was about a week later when Shepard finally left the castle for the first time. Fergus took the time to accompany the man into town, showing him what was going on. Shepard curiously asked Fergus what had happened and Fergus took a deep breath before explaining. Shepard’s blue eyes darkened before laughing children running by distracted them. Fergus smiled as the children ran up to him, greeting him cheerfully before rushing off, playing.

After a while Fergus began to notice that the people were starting to give him looks, expressions that contained confusion, surprise and maybe even a bit of fear. It took a moment to realize that those looks weren't directed at him. He looked back to see Shepard walking behind him, looking rather uncomfortable and Fergus suddenly knew why. It wasn't the burned stranger walking with Fergus, it was Aedan who was walking behind his older brother. Fergus cleared his throat and paused in his steps so that Shepard would catch up to him.

“This is… weird,” Shepard muttered. “This is like what happened after the Blitz.”

“The Blitz?” Fergus asked curiously. Shepard glanced around, still looking rather uncomfortable.

“From where I’m from, I was considered a hero,” the commander admitted. “I was just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to save a settlement from slavers. Got the civilians to pick up arms and held them off just long enough until reinforcement arrived.”

“A hero, huh?” Fergus mused. “Just like Aedan, in a way.” Neither of them said anything else after that, taking time to see some of the places before they returned to the castle.

\--------------------

Shepard would never be Aedan and the differences were starting to become more and more obvious. It had taken almost a month for the burns to heal, but in that timeframe Shepard had been able to charm his way into the hearts of the people of Highever. Aedan was never good at talking, being a man of action, but Shepard was more than willing to talk before answering with violence. At one point when Fergus and Shepard were at The Golden Wreath, two men were about to fight and Shepard had walked over to them. Moments later he was sharing a tankard with the two, all of them laughing and getting along like old friends.

He was a runner - Fergus had gone to the courtyard for some sword practice and saw the commander running laps there. The scars were still there, a mass of white scores criss-crossing his body, and Shepard still tired easily but he pushed on. That was probably one thing he had in common with Aedan, the need to run and to continue on even if he was hurting.

It took another month for Shepard to start with combat practice. Shepard didn’t use a longsword or a greatsword, preferring daggers as they were the most familiar to him. He wasn't an expert in using the bladed weapons, though when he was given a crossbow and shown how to use it, he proved to be an expert marksman. Shepard had nonchalantly shrugged when the boys were crowing with praises at him, telling them that he was trained to shoot this well.

The strangest thing though had to be Shepard's eyes. Aedan had inherited their father's blue eyes but it had a tinge of green in them, inherited from their mother. When he was happy they would be a warm blue-green and when he was angry it would turn ice blue. Shepard's eyes were very… blue. Once in a while it felt like they were glowing to Fergus, and when he voiced that to Shepard the commander looked startled.

“Ah,” he said, sounding embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck, a gesture that Fergus understood as nervousness or embarrassment. “It's… something my people have. I’d explain it, but I’m pretty sure it’d be a little too… complicated to understand.” Fergus watched as Shepard’s eyes darkened and his expression turned uneasy, and he guessed that it was due to homesickness.

He doesn’t ask any more after that. 

\--------------------

Leliana was the first of Aedan's former companions to meet Shepard. She had arrived to rest for a few days. Fergus hadn't been there to greet her when she arrived but when he entered the main hall, he found the bard on the ground in tears and Shepard was kneeling before her. He looked up with a worried expression at Fergus and looked back at the bard.

“Leliana, are you alright?” Fergus asked as he hurried over to her. He knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling out a handkerchief with the other to give to her. She shook her head as she took the handkerchief from Fergus.

“He isn't Aedan,” she sobbed. “I know he isn't Aedan, but Maker! He looks exactly like him.” Shepard looked away and stood up.

“I'll, uh, I'll be in my room,” he said, sounding a bit awkward. In that one moment he sounded exactly like Aedan and even Fergus swallowed hard, reminding himself that this was Shepard, not Aedan. He silently nodded and the commander left the room as Fergus coaxed Leliana to stand up. He pulled her into a hug and she clung to him as she cried into his chest. After a while Leliana wiped her eyes, looking embarrassed at crying all over his shirt.

“It's okay,” Fergus said with a shaky smile. “He makes me think of Aedan too. It's late, I can give you a proper introduction tomorrow morning.” 

\--------------------

Shepard looked relieved that Leliana didn’t didn't burst into tears when they met in the morning for breakfast. She still looked a bit shaken at the sight of him, and Fergus suppose that it was due to the fact that he looked like Aedan. It took awhile for the townspeople to get use to the fact that Shepard was not Aedan but merely a stranger who just looked like him. Fergus hoped that she would be able to accept that as well by the end of breakfast

“Shepard, this is Leliana,” Fergus introduced. “Leliana, this is Commander John Shepard.” They nodded in greetings before Fergus made a gesture for them to go to the dining room and they all walked into the dining room. He pulled out a chair for Leliana who took it with a smile before taking a seat next to her. Shepard took the seat across from the two.

“So what have you been up to, Leliana?” Fergus asked as the servants brought a basket of fresh-made bread with strawberry preserve. Tea was also brought out and poured for them as Leliana picked up a piece of bread and slathered on the preserve.

“Another expedition into the Deep Roads,” she said before taking a bite. “This time, perhaps with a few more Grey Wardens to help us. The darkspawn are unorganized, but still numerous and the Wardens would give us time to prepare in case we are attacked.” The servants entered the room again, carrying plates with eggs, sausages and other breakfast items, placing the food before them.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Shepard asked, “but what’s a darkspawn?” One of the servants nearly dropped a plate and Shepard nimbly saved the plate. The servant stammered out an apology before she hurried out of the room. Shepard looked puzzled by that as he looked back at both Leliana and Fergus.

“Darkspawn are monsters,” Fergus said grimly. “They’re usually found in the Deep Roads, but when there’s an archdemon around, they come to the surface and kill everything in their way.”

“Your brother was fighting these darkspawns, wasn’t he?” Shepard asked. Fergus nodded as he speared a couple sausages.

“I fought alongside Aedan against the darkspawn,” Leliana said. “I can explain more about the darkspawn after breakfast. Perhaps you can tell me a little more about yourself, especially about your eyes.”

“My eyes?” Shepard looked startled. “Um, what about them?”

“Well, they do glow a bit.” Fergus started laughing at that.


	2. Chapter 2

Shepard was stretching in the courtyard, thinking about what Leliana had told him after breakfast. The darkspawn sounded very terrifying, and unfortunately they also reminded Shepard of the oncoming threat of the Reapers. The thought of the Reapers made Shepard pause mid-stretch, thinking about his world before he gave a sigh and continued on. Running always helped with his thinking.

“You are going running?” Shepard looked towards the voice, seeing Leliana at the doorway. “Would you like to do some combat practice instead?”

“Sure,” Shepard replied with a nod. “I’m warning you, I’m terrible with a blade.” Leliana laughed at that as she joined Shepard, both of them picking up practice blades. He had practiced with Fergus and some of the other men and knew in comparison to them all, Shepard was a novice with a blade. He had taken it all in stride as while he was no expert with bladed weapons, he was a master when it came to projectile weapons. The crossbow was the closest to a gun for him so that helped a lot.

“You are smaller,” Leliana said and Shepard looked at her, seeing that she was eyeing him. “Much smaller than Aedan, but I’m betting you are quite fast.”

“Sort of,” he admitted. “There are others that are faster than me from where I come from. My background has me acting more like a spy. I suppose in a way my work is very similar to yours.” Leliana raised an eyebrow as they got into position. She had two daggers, Shepard noticed, and was holding them in a strange way. He had only one and he guessed that the way he held himself was just as strange to Leliana. 

And then they fought.

“You fight strangely,” Leliana said as she took a swipe at Shepard who jumped back to avoid it. Shepard twirled his blade as he circled around, admiring the way the woman moved. Oddly enough he was reminded of the way Tali moved, graceful even as they ran through gunfire and rough terrain.

“It’s the way that I was taught,” he said. “Of course we don’t usually fight people face to face.” He stepped forward, and then was stepping back as Leliana attacked, weaving away from her. “Oh, so you’re more like an assassin,” Leliana said. “I suppose.” Shepard successfully hit Leliana on the side, but winced when she hit him back with both blades. “I don’t use a dagger to kill people, I pick them off from a distance with my gun.”

“Gun?” She rushed forward, attacking quickly. Shepard did his best to avoid her attacks.

“Er, it’s something like a crossbow,” Shepard said. He managed to disarm Leliana of one of her blades. “Much more powerful though.” He moved forward again and Leliana retaliated with a swipe. He dodged back enough to be able grab her arm and flipped her onto her back. There was a surprised cry from Leliana and he finished up be pinning her arm down and the knife to her neck.

“What was that move?” she asked breathlessly.

“Something I learned from training,” he replied with a grin. He pulled away the knife and helped the redhead up to her feet. “The knife and unarmed combat training are all purely defensive though. Maybe I can teach you a little if you tell me how you can wield two dagger at the same time without hurting yourself.”

“Done,” Leliana replied with a laugh. 

\---------------------

Shepard wasn’t use to oral story telling, but he found it rather engaging. He decided that it had to do with the way Leliana told the stories that made it so fascinating. She was relating her adventures with Aedan and the others, and some of the more humorous moments between them. Fergus seemed to appreciate the stories as well, laughing with Shepard.

“Ah, but I suppose it’s now your turn, Shepard,” Leliana said. “Where did you come from? What is your story?”

“Where did I come from?” Shepard rubbed his face, noting absently that he needed a shave. “Would you believe me if I said I came from the stars?” Leliana raised an eyebrow while Fergus tilted his head. Shepard chuckled quietly.

“I was born in America, but I can’t tell you who my parents were. Never knew them, to be honest,” he said. “When I turned 18, I joined the military just to get away and that’s it.”

“Surely that can't be all there is?” Leliana asked, pouting.

“He was a hero,” Fergus said, causing Shepard to give a shrug while Leliana’s eyes brighten in interest.

“It wasn’t much,” Shepard explained. “Like I told Fergus, I was just at the right place at the right time.”

“You should tell her the whole story or she’s going to start needling you,” Fergus said, amused. Shepard chuckled at that, and proceeded to tell Leliana and Fergus the story of how he became a hero throughout the Alliance. By the end of the story Leliana’s eyes were shining and a smile was on her face.

“That was amazing, Shepard,” she said. “You are much too modest, trying to hide such things.”

“It’s things like that that gets me a little too much attention,” he replied drily. Leliana laughed.

“That’s true. A spy like you wouldn’t be able to work if everybody knows your face,” she said. “So how do you think you got here?” Shepard leaned back into his chair, staring at the ceiling.

“Who knows?” he replied. “I just remember that I was trying to get my crew off of the ship when I got hit by an explosion and was spaced. I know I was falling through the atmosphere and then… And then I woke up here.”

“You were under attack?” Fergus asked alarmed.

“Yeah.” The commander crossed his arms and looked at Fergus and Leliana. “There were ships of people disappearing and I was tasked to find out what was happening. A warship came out of nowhere and attacked us.” He looked away, suddenly worried. He had managed to get Joker into the escape pod but he wasn’t positive if it had been launched before the explosion.

It made Shepard realized that he needed to find a way home, as soon as possible.

“Are you alright, Shepard?” He looked at Leliana who wore a concerned look on her face.

“I don’t know if my people are okay,” he said quietly. “I need to find a way back.” There was silence in the room for a moment before Leliana spoke again.

“Shepard, when you are talking about ships, you are talking about boats, correct?”

“Boats?” He was confused for a moment before he realized his terminology was much different from their terminology. “Oh, no, they’re not boats. They’re, well, yeah, they’re kind of, um, no, not really, actually, um…” He rubbed the back of his neck, really unsure as to how to explain the concept of space ships to people who still rode horses and fought with swords.

“Well, I mentioned before about the stars, right?”

“Surely that was a joke,” Fergus said. Shepard shook his head and watched as the teyrn frown and lean forward in his seat, resting his arms on his knees. “You are serious. You lived among the stars?”

“Well, I didn’t live in space,” Shepard replied. “Well, not all the time, but I traveled through it mostly. In my world we have ships that fly through the stars. It’s like your ships at sea except we don’t have wind to make the ships move. Um… huh, how do I describe an engine?”

“Then your people are, what, mages?” Leliana asked.

“Mages? Mages are magic-users, right? Uh, no, totally not mages, unless you count… er, no we don’t have mages,” Shepard said. “We rely more on science and technology.” The blank looks on their faces explained everything to Shepard and he chuckled.

“You know how a smith crafts a sword, yes?” he asked. “I bet that when the first sword came about it was made of stone. Then someone found bronze and figured how to make it into a blade with fire. And then from there it was iron.”

“An evolution of weapon,” Fergus said. Shepard nodded.

“Yes, now apply that to your ships, weapons and armor,” Shepard continued. “One day ships will be made of steel, swords will be able to fit in your pockets or, hell, one day maybe you’ll be able to fly through the sky.”

“Hold on, this is hurting my head,” Leliana said, placing a hand onto her forehead. “You’re saying that your people are so advance that it no longer needs swords and magic?”

“Well, we have biotics who could be considered mages in a way, but that’s another complicated story,” Shepard said, waving his hand at that. “We don’t have swords anymore in my world – well, we do but swordsmanship like what Fergus and his men do in the courtyard, we don’t have that anymore. Our weapon of choice tend to be guns which are—”

“Like crossbows but more powerful,” Leliana said, repeating what Shepard had said that morning. Shepard nodded in response. “But you can still fight without this gun.”

“True, but compared to you and Fergus, my training with a dagger is, well, basic,” Shepard said, getting a chuckle from Fergus. “And I have to admit, my training is one of the best in terms of human military so hand-to-hand, I’m pretty sure I can best most people here. Hm… may have a little trouble with the guys that are twice my size though, which from what I’ve seen is every human male here so far.” Leliana laughed as Shepard gave them a thoughtful look before breaking out into a grin himself. 

\--------------------

Leliana left a few of days later. Since then Shepard had been poring through the books in the library, half hoping to find some answers while reading up on the history and culture of the world. He knew it would be unlikely to find answers as to how he arrived to Ferelden, but his curiousity about the world was winning out over finding answers.

Shepard laughed quietly to himself; somehow he managed to jump from a science-fiction novel to a fantasy novel. Still it gave him something to do aside from combat practice and mingling with the townspeople.

It also made him think about his crew, and he wondered if Joker had been able to escape, if Kaidan had found the pilot, if his crew were fine.

“Did you find anything?” Shepard started at the voice and looked up to see Fergus walking up. He looked down at the book, closed it and tossed it onto the stack of other books.

“No, and I doubt I will,” Shepard said, rubbing his eyes with a hand before giving the teyrn a smile. “Your library does have interesting books to read though – I may bother Mother Sarah about, well, all the stories I just read.” Fergus chuckled at that, taking a seat across from Shepard.

“I have an idea, but… well, to be honest I'd rather not go there, but it is a good chance,” Fergus said. “You probably don't know about this but there's a place known as the Circle. It's a place that's filled with mages.”

“…Is there something I should know about the Circle?” Shepard asked slowly. “You seem wary.”

“And for good reasons,” Fergus replied “We Fereldens don’t trust mages because of their powers, and knowing that there is a building full of them is, well, as you can imagine quite unnerving.”

“Makes sense.” Shepard could imagine a building full of asaris and human biotics with no training on their abilities and grimaced.

“I believe there's a book about the Circle somewhere in the library so if you wish to know more about them,” Fergus continued. “Mother Sarah may also provide you with some more information. As is, the mages all pull their spells from another world, perhaps they would have some inkling about your situation.” Shepard nodded thoughtfully.

“I'll finish looking through your library first and then we'll see,” Shepard said. “Thank you, Fergus.” Fergus just smiled and with a nod, left the library.


End file.
